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Jahvid Best and Doug English named Lions' Courage House Award recipients

Allen Park, Mich. — Lions’ running back Jahvid Best has been selected as the Detroit Lions’ 2012 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, which recognizes men of courage in the NFL. The East Side Athletic Club of Baltimore presents the award annually to an individual from each of the 32 league organizations. Best will be honored locally at the Detroit Lions Courage House Dinner, Tuesday, November 27, at Ford Field.

The Ricky Sandoval Award, which recognizes individuals who have made contributions both in sports and in the community, will also be presented. The award is named in honor of the late Lions’ director of security who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2009. This year’s recipient is former Lions’ defensive tackle, Doug English, who is the chairman of the Board for the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation where he has helped raise over $2,000,000 funding research recovery programs and adaptive sports programs.

Best joined the Lions as the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played in 15 games (11 starts) and rushed for 555 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and set a Lions rookie record with 58 receptions and 487 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In 2011, he garnered 677 total yards of offense and three touchdowns in six games before sustaining a concussion against the San Francisco 49ers (October 16, 2011). His career totals with the Lions include 255 rushing attempts for 945 yards and six touchdowns and 85 receptions for 744 yards and three touchdowns.

“Jahvid Best is most deserving of this tribute bestowed by his teammates and the team sports medicine department,” said Lions’ coordinator of athletic medicine, Dean Kleinschmidt. “He has fought through the difficulties of many post-concussion signs and symptoms and implicitly followed the directions of several of the nation’s leading medical experts on head injuries. For the past year he has endured countless hours of cognitive rehabilitation and therapy with enthusiasm and eagerness, without complaint, anger or impatience. I have never pulled harder for an injured athlete to return to the field of play.”

The national Ed Block Courage Award Dinner to honor Best and 31 other NFL recipients will be held early next year in Baltimore. The award is named in honor of the late Ed Block, former athletic trainer for the Baltimore Colts, who devoted much of his time and money helping abused children.